If you’re wondering why you have eczema, you might have a look in your medicine cabinet. In fact, if you have children, there’s an 80 percent chance that they were prescribed at least one eczema-causing medication this year. Although there are effective eczema treatments available, finding alternative solutions to the drugs that cause it is also a good idea.

What are these drugs? There is a very, very long list: antibiotics, antivirals, antiparasitics, antihistamines, phenothiazines (once restricted to use as pesticides and industrial chemicals and now the largest of the five main classes of antipsychotics – go figure), non steroidal anti inflammatories, anesthetics, anticancer drugs and, yes, the drugs your doctor is most likely to prescribe for you as eczema treatment – steroids.

The sad thing is that eczema is not the worst side effect of many of these drugs and there are often natural alternatives available. The “80 percent" mentioned above, for example, refers to the number of children and adolescents who are prescribed antibiotics each year – eight out of 10. Many doctors will offer safe alternatives if you ask for them.

Another good candidate for substitution is the prescribing of steroid drugs as eczema treatment. Steroids prescribed to treat one of the exact conditions they are known to cause doesn’t seem like the optimal way to go about things. Come to think of it, antibiotics that suppress the immune system and thereby leave us more susceptible to bacterial infection doesn’t make a lot of sense either.

As an alternative to steroids for eczema treatment, you might try shielding lotion. Hundreds of dermatologists are now recommending it as eczema treatment, (should be a dot)In fact, shielding lotion has enabled some people to completely eliminate steroids and other harmful drugs. How does it work? A good shielding lotion bonds with the outer layer of the skin to form a protective layer that keeps the moisture in and the chemicals out. As dry skin and contact with harsh chemicals are major causes of eczema, keeping the skin moisturized and protected against those chemicals is the most direct eczema treatment you can get. Why mess around with harmful drugs when a natural alternative will do the job?